June 19 2011

10:08 PM

He didn't see a lot of shots, but he saw enough to call
McIlroy's game fantastic.

"The way he plays golf, it's a different golf,'' said Kaymer,
who won his first major last August at the PGA Championship. "It's
close to perfect.''

". . . .It is great for him to win the event early in his
career. He's only 22 years old and especially after what happened
at the Masters, you know, all the eyes on him. And to finally to
bring it home and to win not only, I would say, the biggest over
there, anyway, besides the Masters, but it's the U.S. Open, if you
are the champion of the United States, it's quite impressive. And
to be the second Irish. I mean, I'm very happy for him and for his
family, as well. He has great parents. It's great to see.''

Kaymer did say, though, that Congressional was . . . well, not
Pebble Beach or Pinehurst.

"It's not really a U.S. Open golf course, to be honest,'' Kaymer
said. "It plays softer. You have birdie chances the first
nine It plays fairly easy. If you hit the fairways, you can
go straight at the flags. And the greens, they roll along. Still,
16‑under, or wherever he'll finish today, it's very
impressive and I'm very happy for him.''

McIlroy's expected win will also give the Internationals a
string of five consecutive major championships for the first time
ever. Internationals held four in a row in 1994 -- Jose Maria
Olazabal (Masters), Ernie Els (U.S. Open) and Nick Price (British
Open, PGA).

When asked what he thought that said about American golf, Kaymer
said, "It says, I think, that the Americans struggle a little
bit. Since Tiger (Woods) has been on a, how do you say, a
little down.''

He added that the advent of the World Golf Championships have
strengthened international golf, but that it was Padraig
Harrington, who won three of six majors (2007, 2008 British Opens;
2008 PGA Championship) "gave us at least the belief that we can win
here in America, as well."